Chapter 141
Chapter 141
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: Shrimp Fight with a Whale Involved - 3
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Dimension walls aren't omnipotent.
With enough focus, they block any attack coming from the front or the sides.
But that also means they can't stop attacks from unfocused directions—or from behind.
The lightning bolt headed for Sung-ho fell into that category.
He'd spotted the guy in the alley making some weird hand gestures, but it had slipped right through the gap between the ghouls.
He reacted, but couldn't dodge in time and took the lightning hit square on.
His consciousness cut out instantly. When he came to, smoke was billowing from his forearm.
The pain was so intense his teeth ground together.
He'd endured it thanks to his elemental resistance.
His stamina regeneration skill kicked in, and his inflamed red skin began to heal.
Almost simultaneously, his combat instinct and feral rage activated.
As Sung-ho slowly stood, Dajeong watched him.
"···"
No words were needed.
They both knew exactly what to do in a situation like this.
Her eyes turned red, and the enhanced ghouls went berserk.
The locust ghouls leaped around wildly, startling the Chinese attackers.
Sung-ho charged straight at them.
"He's coming!"
"Block him!"
Why bother blocking with that musclehead when they could just zap him with lightning again?
...It had a cooldown.
Logically, spamming that kind of ranged attack non-stop would break the game's balance.
That was Sung-ho's assessment.
"Raaah!"
The stocky Chinese guy in the lead hurled a spear.
Sung-ho reflexively blocked its path with a dimension wall.
Clang! The spear bounced off, and he veered slightly off course in surprise.
He'd drawn his long knife by then, but a dimension wall was there too.
As long as he maintained focus, dimension walls could appear anywhere, anytime.
"Argh!"
The moment the long knife slammed into the dimension wall and ricocheted, Sung-ho's fist smashed into his face.
Splat!
A weird sound echoed as his jaw whipped around.
A few teeth flew out—he'd be on liquids for a while.
As screams poured from his mouth, Sung-ho's hook plunged straight into his gut.
"Guhk!"
His stomach heaved, his back arching.
He couldn't hold it in and vomited violently.
"Urk!"
Some foul liquid spewed out.
Sung-ho had already moved on to the next physical enhancer.
He considered using dimension prison, but a locust ghoul leaped in and pinned the guy first.
"Gaaah!"
He freaked out at the sight of the enhanced ghoul he'd never seen before.
The locust slashed with its claws as it pounced, and they ended up rolling on the ground in a tangle.
It was Dajeong's ghoul, so it wouldn't kill him—but he'd suffer.
In seconds, two more were neutralized.
Shen Lung bit his lip and summoned wind again.
Whoosh!
A fierce gust erupted at Sung-ho's feet, launching him into the air.
'Ten seconds.'
That meant he was basically a normal person for ten seconds after attacking.
Mao Chen reached out toward Sung-ho floating in the sky.
This one had a ten-second cooldown too.
Unaware that Mao Chen had slowed down to time it, both smirked.
"Die!"
A bolt of lightning lanced down—but Sung-ho was already gone.
He'd twisted mid-air and started wall-running up the building side.
The blue lightning grazed his side.
The Chinese guys' eyes bulged in shock.
A human was running up a building's outer wall like it was flat ground!
"I-Is that even possible?"
What kind of trait allowed that?
Everyone gaped at the gravity-defying movement.
Meanwhile, Sung-ho closed the distance.
To them, he looked like a madman with bloodshot eyes.
'Scary!'
'We shouldn't have messed with him!'
Too late for regrets—no escape now.
Dajeong's ghouls had them surrounded.
The levitation guy grabbed Shen Lung and floated up, but three locusts leaped and yanked them down.
"Aaaagh!"
"Eeeek!"
They hit the ground hard and tumbled.
Even as they fought, the Chinese desperately fended off Sung-ho and the ghouls.
Arrows flew, spears sailed.
But he blocked everything, narrowing the gap relentlessly.
To them, Sung-ho was the Grim Reaper come to claim their lives.
"Argh! Stay back!"
In full panic, Mao Chen bolted without even trying lightning.
The ghouls deliberately opened a path for him.
And then.
Just as he thought he'd made it, a dimension prison appeared ahead.
Mao Chen leaped right into it without realizing.
"Hah!"
When he snapped to, he was in a blizzard-swept snowfield.
Where the hell was this?
A bone-chilling cold swept over him.
Cold...
Mao Chen huddled, shivering uncontrollably.
He knew staying still meant freezing to death, but he couldn't move.
"Ugh..."
When the blizzard turned him white, he finally returned to reality.
Mao Chen's eyes darted around.
Unbelievable.
Almost all his comrades were down.
Only the big Korean and Shen Lung remained.
She dangled helplessly from Sung-ho's chokehold.
"Shen Lung..."
He reached out but couldn't fire lightning.
Sung-ho's terrifying glare pinned him.
Like he was daring him to try.
Mao Chen trembled involuntarily.
He could see exactly what was coming next.
Thud.
A fist sank into Shen Lung's gut.
Thud, thud, thud.
Drum-like beats rang out. She writhed in agony, but Sung-ho had no intention of letting go.
In movies, wouldn't the hero toss the villain away about now?
The hero has to let them live, so he beats them up then chucks them aside.
But reality is cruel.
Mao Chen's hopes shattered under Sung-ho's fists.
Thud!
"Hngh!"
Blood frothed at her mouth.
Her internals were rupturing.
In her fading consciousness, Shen Lung begged the man silently beating her.
"P-Please... spare me..."
He paused his punches for a moment.
"You came at me intending to kill, right?"
She couldn't deny it.
With feeble gestures, she tried to ward off his raised fist.
His voice rang in her ears.
"You attacked because you thought you could handle the consequences. Now deal with them."
Thud, thud.
The beating resumed.
Tang Shen Lung, who was near-normal without her wind manipulation trait, passed out from the pain.
Brutal bastard...
Terror filled Mao Chen's eyes.
He glanced helplessly at the encircling ghouls.
A guy who brutally beats women paired with a ghoul-controlling woman.
They never should've messed with them.
Would groveling now save him?
Killing two here would make them murderers.
All sorts of thoughts raced through Mao Chen's mind.
He watched helplessly as ghouls dragged Shen Lung away.
The guy who'd just pummeled her was approaching him.
A ripping scream echoed from beside him.
The ghouls had tossed her to the kobolds.
With the ghouls gone, the kobolds swarmed Shen Lung like it was Christmas.
Harrowing screams filled the air as Mao Chen dropped to his knees.
"Spare me, and I'll do anything!"
"Good posture. Do that next time."
Not getting spared.
Mao Chen realized no words would work on this man.
He approached slowly. Mao Chen scanned around.
Only frenzied monsters—no people.
Five had come; all but him were dead.
The fact he wasn't a murderer despite that sent chills down his spine.
Overwhelming combat power plus the cold-blooded calm to avoid blood on his hands.
Should never have touched him.
But it was done—no choices left.
Mao Chen fired one last lightning bolt, but it stopped right before the man.
"Damn it all..."
Resistance and strength gone.
Sung-ho's fist cracked into Mao Chen's jaw, sending him flying.
The inevitable beating followed. He frothed blood and blacked out, then got tossed to the monsters.
A werewolf mid-fight with ghouls.
Mao Chen closed his eyes as its jaws gaped wide.
Roooar!
A bloodcurdling scream drew everyone from the time shelter.
They gawked at the devastated street before the department store.
Hardly anything human or monster was moving properly.
Only two were left, stomping a werewolf.
Whimper!
Blood-soaked, it howled.
Two long knives severed its arms.
Sizzle—
Legs and neck followed almost simultaneously.
Blood fountained from the stump, soaking the road.
That's when they realized.
This devastation was that man's and woman's doing.
The one who'd decapitated the werewolf with long knives approached them.
"Get lost."
No one defied him.
They fled without a fight.
The street fell silent.
Dajeong finally tossed her long knives to a ghoul and hugged Sung-ho from behind.
.
.
.
Goo Myung-hoon couldn't make sense of his subordinate's report about chaos at the time shelter.
"It's always a mess there. What's the big deal?"
"No, someone showed up and is killing everyone!"
"You serious?"
The time shelter entrance was guarded by dozens around the clock.
Sentries even at dawn—arrows fly at any approach.
And the monsters were deadly.
Kobolds were manageable, but werewolves and keepers? No chance.
Yet someone was slaughtering them all?
Goo Myung-hoon's face hardened.
"Not joking, huh. Let's check it out."
As he grabbed his gear, urgent reports flooded in.
"Ghouls are massacring monsters!"
"Some guy's rampaging—no one's stopping him!"
"He's insane! Sliced a werewolf without breaking a sweat!"
What kind of monster... no, person was this?
Goo Myung-hoon rallied his crew and hurried to the time shelter.
Exiting the alley revealed the horror.
Monster corpses piled up on the road before the time shelter.
"Ugh..."
The gray asphalt was drowned in blood.
One subordinate dry-heaved at a mangled human body.
And someone stood at the time shelter entrance.
Goo Myung-hoon recognized him instantly.
The big guy who'd entered Gwangju yesterday... it was him.
He leaned bored on his long knife, then eyed Goo Myung-hoon.
"A word."
His voice was deep and heavy.
Goo Myung-hoon approached like he was mesmerized, ignoring his men's shouts.
He regretted calling him a shrimp yesterday.
Shouldn't have run his mouth.
Take it back now?
"Turns out you're not a shrimp but a whale, haha"?
For a whale, better a manly humpback than a blue one...
He snapped to, realizing he'd gotten too close, and froze.
Sung-ho spoke.
"Goo Myung-hoon, right?"
"Y-Yes, sir."
Goo Myung-hoon led a top Gwangju clan.
But he couldn't handle Sung-ho's piercing gaze and the stench of blood.
He clasped his hands politely and listened.
"You know the Chinese guys? Wind and lightning users."
Of course.
His clan and others had clashed with their group for nearly a month.
To secure the time shelter.
Individuals weren't strong, but their numbers overwhelmed.
But what about them?
"They're dead. Their buddies too. Cleared out the watchers. No Chinese left here."
"···Huh?"
Stunned, Goo Myung-hoon blurted stupidly.
Sung-ho sighed and glared.
"Need me to explain again?"
"N-No! So... no Chinese at all?"
"Right. No monsters either, as you see."
How the hell did he clear it?
Goo Myung-hoon thought of the veteran quartet.
Only those four could pull this off.
Not Bunny Duo. Survivor1 stuck to government shelters.
Duck Down Quack was a woman, so... Kimbap Lover.
His mind tangled.
How'd the guy from Sindorim Station days ago get here?
Shrunk the distance?
The street was eerily quiet.
Clan members watched tensely.
Goo Myung-hoon gathered his thoughts and swallowed.
"S-So what do you want us to do...?"
"Time shelter's open."
He cracked it...
Only the final seal remained anyway.
"Chinese and monsters gone. It's yours now."
"···F-For real?"
Goo Myung-hoon was thrilled.
Drooling over it for months, and now this.
But Sung-ho wasn't done.
"In five days. I'll use it for five days, so hold out till then."
"Five days...?"
Goo Myung-hoon's voice shrank.
Clan would want in immediately.
He did too.
How much loot inside?
Scraping by on scant combat rations in winter was maddening.
But wait five more days?
Sung-ho seemed to read his mind.
"I'll hook you up with supplies for a few days. We're not staying long anyway. Gone in five, then it's yours. Can't wait that long?"
"N-No, of course not."
Turning down this courtesy would be idiotic.
Five days for the massive time shelter's loot...
Goo Myung-hoon dreamed of it.
Back at the alley with waiting clanmates, ghouls poured from the shelter, unloading supplies.
Everyone gulped.
"Whoa... supplies incoming."
"Boss, how'd you pull it off?"
"Agreed to wait five days."
"Five? What till then?"
"Not our business. Just wait."
"Other clan leaders won't agree..."
"What'll they do? You wanna face him?"
They glanced at Sung-ho and shut up.
That devastating power turned on them... no thanks.
"Who the hell is he anyway?"
"That much power... probably..."
One name popped up simultaneously.
Kimbap Lover.
Auction house bullies' mortal enemy, rumored nasty veteran.
"Handing out supplies... doesn't seem that bad."
"Yeah."
But did Kimbap Lover control ghouls?
Ghoul queen inside?
Puzzled, a latecomer joined.
Unaware of events, he spotted Sung-ho and yapped.
"B-Boss, it's him! The shrimp you mentioned!"
Goo Myung-hoon smacked his head in horror.
"Idiot! Not a shrimp—a whale!"
"Huh?"
After the rundown, his jaw dropped.
If true, a whale crashed the shrimp fight.
"He won't take too much, right?"
"Most'll be left. Shelter's packed."
"Haha, yeah."
Expectations swelled.
They didn't know.
Whales eat a lot, proportional to size.
End of Shrimp Fight with a Whale Involved - 3